


Finding Our Way

by vgsfshade6116



Series: Cogito Ergo Sum [2]
Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe, Gen, M/M, Robo!Jack AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-09-06
Updated: 2016-10-18
Packaged: 2018-08-13 10:09:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 2,878
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7972996
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vgsfshade6116/pseuds/vgsfshade6116
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A collection of oneshots, set in the robo!Jack AU.<br/>First up, a soldier steps in to help an Omnic in trouble.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Too Late

“Thank you!” Neil said pleasantly as the woman accepted a pamphlet. “May the Iris guide you to tranquility!” he flashed a peace sign as she walked away.

The sun was setting, which meant it was time to go home. Neil hummed as he walked. Today had been a productive day. More people had actually stopped to listen to him talk about the teachings of the Shambali. And while some people might not actually read the pamphlets, there was the chance that they would and spare some thought about what was written in them.

He was not paying much attention to his surroundings. If he had, he would have noticed the group of men that had been hanging out in one of the city’s many alleys. As it was, he was only alerted to their presence when he heard a low chuckle behind him.

Neil turned around, and fear filled him. About 7 men were there, and from the skeleton tattoos they had all over their bodies, they were Los Muertos. Two were carrying weapons, a baseball bat with metal plates stuck to it, and a pipe. The one with the bat was grinning viciously, and it was clear he was eager to use it. Neil backed up, only for his back to hit another thug. The thug roughly shoved him back, and they closed in around him.

“So, what’s a tin can like you doing out so late? You’re not trying to cause trouble, are you?” the thug with the bat asked.

“N-no,” Neil frantically shook his head. “I was just going home.” He held up the pamphlets. “I was sp-spreading the w-word of the Sh-Shambali. W-would you like a – ah!”

A thug slapped the pamphlets out of his hand. “Please, leave me alone,” Neil begged pitifully. “I-I can give you money – “

The bat connected with Neil’s head, leaving a large dent in it. Neil fell to the ground, and he could only curl up and cry as the thugs beat him into the dirt.

“Don’t young punks like you have better things to do besides pick on omnics?”

The thugs stopped beating Neil to look at the newcomer. Neil uncurled and saw a tall, white-haired stranger, wearing a mask with a red visor. Now he was afraid that this stranger was going to get beaten up as well. “Please…” he said softly.

“It’s a bucket of bolts,” one thug said. “What? You gotta problem with us getting rid of trash, pendejo?”

The stranger stepped forward. “I advise you to stop. Or else I’ll have to make you.”

The thugs laughed. “Make us? Oh, that’s rich, coming from a guy with no weapon!”

“Hit me with your best shot then.”

Two thugs ran forward. One thug punched the stranger in the chest, but he was the one who pulled his fist back, cradling it in pain. “Ow! What the hell…?”

The other thug threw both of his fists at the stranger, only for the stranger to grab his arms. “Hey, let go of me! Let go – AAAAAAAHHHHH!”

The stranger squeezed the thug’s arms, and a sickening _crunch_ was heard. The stranger let go, and the thug dropped to the ground, still screaming in agony from his shattered arms. The stranger looked at the rest of the gang, who were now all plainly terrified.

“You punks should get your friend here to the hospital. Or are you all too stupid to know when to quit?”

Nobody moved. Then one thug pulled out a knife. “Let’s get him!”

The thugs all roared in response and rushed at the stranger. The stranger struck like lightning. He grabbed the knife-wielding thug by the wrist and snapped it before kneeing him in the gut, sending him flying. One jumped him from behind, only to get elbowed to the face and tossed off. The thug with the bat raised it, only to get a solid punch to the jaw, and he landed in an unconscious heap, some of his teeth now scattered across the ground. A pipe connected with the stranger’s head, but he didn’t go down. Instead, he glared at the thug and growled. He snatched the pipe out of the thug’s hands, knocked him to the ground, and firmly planted his foot on his back. The thug screamed and begged as the stranger bent the pipe and wrapped it around his wrists.

Only one thug was left, and he had only managed to avoid injury by keeping his distance the entire time. The stranger slowly approached him. The thug fumbled at his holster, and pulled out a pistol. The stranger casually swatted it out of his hand. He roughly grabbed the thug by the shirt. “Don’t let me ever catch you punks making a mess on these streets again. Otherwise it’s going to be a lot more hospital visits for you, and each one will be more unpleasant than the last. Understood?” The thug nodded fearfully, and the stranger threw him aside.

The stranger walked over to Neil and helped him stand. “Thank you…” Neil said gratefully. “Who are you?”

“Just a soldier. Soldier: 76. Where can I find someone who can fix you up?”

“Jennifer,” Neil gave Soldier: 76 her address. “She helps all omnics who need repairs.”

“I have a question. Can she keep a secret?”

“Yes, she can. Why do you ask?”

Soldier: 76 removed his mask, showing Neil his face. “Oh…” he said, understanding. “Yes, she will help you too.”

Soldier: 76 put his mask back on, and they headed to Jennifer’s place together. While they walked, Neil spoke. “I greatly appreciate you helping me back there, but…did you have to use so much force against them? It seemed…excessive.”

“Hurting people is what I’m good at. It’s what I was made for.”

“But you could be more than that!” Neil cried out in dismay. “Like the rest of us, you could be more than what you were made for!”

Soldier: 76 laughed, and it was a hollow, bitter sound.

“I lost my chance for that a long time ago.”


	2. Trapped

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jack is trapped by the past, but Gabriel is there for him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Big thanks to Senkirowolf for beta-reading this and my other writings for me.

Gabriel had been going through the latest data they had recovered from Talon when he heard banging from the other room. Shit, it was happening again. Gabriel immediately dropped the files and rushed to Jack’s side.

The first time Gabriel had seen it happen, they were in the middle of a shootout with Los Muertos. While returning fire, Jack had suddenly went stock-still. Upon unfreezing, he acted as though he thought Jesse was there. Gabriel ended up having to cover for both of their asses as they got out of there, while Jack kept on babbling to the absent cowboy. Jack had stayed in that state for an hour. When he came out of it, and Gabriel asked him what the hell had happened back there, Jack shamefully explained.

Jack hadn’t come out of the Swiss HQ explosion unscathed. His memory drives had been damaged, and as a result he found himself flashing back to past events at the most inopportune moments. Sometimes it was harmless, recalling a date with Gabriel while he was holed up in his safehouse. Other times were like just then, getting trapped in the past in the middle of a dangerous situation. And sometimes, his mind dredged up trauma, leaving him a howling and writhing mess. He would lash out physically, punching the walls or shattering anything he could get his hands on. On one occasion Gabriel had found him banging his head against the wall, screaming the entire time. Even though he had seen lots of shit back in Blackwatch, that had been one of the most disturbing things Gabriel had ever seen.

Gabriel did his best to help Jack through his episodes. He wished he could do more, but it had been a long time since he had viewed Jack’s blueprints, and he had always left the maintenance stuff to the engineers. Gabriel didn’t want to risk accidentally lobotomizing Jack, so their current mission was hunting down Jack’s schematics so that they could both figure out how the hell he worked. So far no luck; someone had been intent on wiping them from the Overwatch databases, and the Talon bases they had hit so far hadn’t been involved with the Tin Soldier project. 

But right now, what mattered was being there for Jack. Gabriel entered the room and found what he had expected; Jack pounding on the walls while shrieking. There were several deep craters in the walls already, but it wasn’t as though they were going to stay in this safe house forever. Gabriel reached out and laid his hand on Jack’s shoulder. “Jack.”

Jack didn’t react to the touch. He continued to punch the wall. “Stop it, stop it, stop it! Don’t hurt them!”

Of course it would be _ that _ day. What else could send Jack into a fit like this? “Jack!” Gabriel flipped Jack so that they were facing each other. “You’re not at the base! You’re here, with me!”

Jack clutched his head, eyes wide. “No, no, no, no, no...Stop, stop, stop, stop!” he kept on repeating. “HELP ME!”

Gabriel gripped Jack’s arms. “Try to focus on me, Jack. It’s all just in your head, it’s not actually happening. You can get through this!”

Jack’s eyes seemed to refocus slightly. “Gabriel.” he breathed.

“Yes, it’s me. I’m here, here to help you.”

Jack suddenly pulled him into a bone-crushing hug. Literally bone-crushing. But Gabriel didn’t try to pull himself away, even though he felt his ribs cracking under the pressure. Instead he returned the embrace. He could always regenerate from the damage later.

Jack buried his head in Gabriel’s chest. “Gabriel, please, help me. Help me. Stop me. Please, stop me.”

Gabriel’s own hold on Jack tightened. “You already stopped.” 

Jack’s grip relaxed, and he trembled. “I’m so sorry,” he whispered. “I didn’t mean to…But I killed you, I killed you with my own hands. I couldn’t stop myself, and I hate myself so much for that...I wish you never woke me up. I wish I was never made.”

Gabriel gently pet Jack’s head. “Oh Jack...I don’t regret meeting you at all.”

They simply held each other in the silence.


	3. Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After the Swiss HQ explosion, Jack struggles with himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Big thanks to PrettyArbitrary and Senkirowolf, you guys are awesome betas :).

Why had he come here?

That was the question in Jack’s mind ever since he had stepped off the bus. Here he was in Indiana, and for what? Connecting with a past he never actually had? But he could still recall those memories, and even though he now knew them to be false, they still filled him with a sense of...wistfulness, strange as that was. 

People threw glances at him as he walked through town. Jack admitted that he hadn’t done a very good job of disguising himself. He was wearing a surgical mask, an eyepatch over his left eye, and he had caked makeup over the rest of the exposed metal. But it was the middle of summer, and a scarf would draw more unwanted attention. 

Jack went to the town drugstore and grabbed some more bottles of makeup. The place was also selling sunglasses, and Jack couldn’t suppress a chortle when he took a pair. They really were appropriate, considering his situation.

He could see that there was a diner across the street, and he wished that he could enjoy some coffee and breakfast there, but that meant taking off his mask in order to eat properly, and if people caught sight of his face they would start screaming. Yes, he didn’t actually need to eat, but he wanted to feel  _ real _ . So he bought a few bags of chips, in addition to the makeup and sunglasses.

He checked into the cheapest motel in town, and once he was in his room, he went into the bathroom to reapply the makeup. He carefully applied liquid foundation over his face, then added some tan to make the effect a little more convincing. After a quick snack, he got out some oil from his duffel bag and oiled his joints. A lot of it splashed over the floor, but he was getting better at it. It was certainly a lot better than the first time, where he had to actually cut the skin off to get at the joints. That had not been pleasant at all.

He counted how much money he had left. Not a lot was left, so that meant having to take up some odd jobs for some extra cash. He put the mask and his new sunglasses on, and headed back into town to see if anything was posted. In another life, he mused, he’d be snapping 6 pictures a minute, even though the only thing of interest in the entire state were the massive fields of corn, while Gabriel would laugh at him being so easily impressed.

Papers were posted on a billboard by the post office, and Jack gave them a look-over. As he did so, one caught his eye, and he took it off the board for a closer look. A farmhouse was being sold, and the poster even had a photo of the place. It looked a little run down, sure, but it wasn’t anything a new paint job wouldn’t fix. The price wasn’t outrageous. Actually, if he saved up, he could have a place of his own. For once, he could have some semblance of peace and quiet. He could mimic his memories and actually get some animals and crops to raise. Hard, fulfilling work, that sounded good-

Jack stopped himself, shaking his head. What was he thinking? He was wasting enough time here as it was. He shouldn't dwell on impossible dreams. He shoved the paper in his pocket and moved on.

_ Several years later… _

Gabriel let out a low whistle as he stepped inside the farmhouse. “You sure can pick out your dumps, Jack. Couldn’t you have gone for somewhere more romantic, like somewhere by the lakeside?”

Jack chuckled and kissed Gabriel on the cheek. “I know that it’s a bit of a fixer-upper. But the idea was that we could make it our place together.”

Gabriel smiled and took Jack’s hand in his. “Not a bad idea for spending the rest of our lives together, I suppose.”

Jack grinned. “Let’s get started then.”


	4. Treasure

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gabriel muses on Jack's nature.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to prettyarbitrary and senkirowolf for being my betas! I really can't thank you guys enough!

Jack is so very different from a human. Yet Gabriel sometimes forgets that he isn’t one.

For one thing, Jack’s body is actually quite warm. Certainly a lot warmer than Gabriel. Maybe that’s why he always wakes up clinging to him. Forget all that talk about cold unfeeling metal. Actually, Gabriel has found that he can easily make Jack’s temperature rise just by whispering dirty little things into his ear. The air rises a few degrees, Jack’s fans whir loudly as they try to cool him off, and Jack runs off to stick his head into something cold. The whole thing is adorable. Jack can also eat regular food (and have to go to the bathroom afterwards). He is also by no means perfect. He isn’t good at everything he does, and he makes mistakes like the rest of them.

Most of all, Jack clearly has his own feelings. He has mourned what he has lost, and he is enraged at those who have hurt them. But there is love in him too, love for Gabriel and his friends. He is happy whenever they catch up on lost time, whether it be fulfilling baser desires, or just cuddling with each other. And there are so many others. Jack has a soul, that is the short of it. It isn’t of the type Gabriel has consumed, but it is still a soul.

But there are the differences, of course. The exposed metal is the starkest one. But he’s also seen Jack walk right through hails of gunfire and come out almost completely unscathed. He doubts there’s anyone who could just rip a tank apart with their bare hands. And sometimes, when he wakes up before Jack does, he realizes that Jack is eerily still and silent. He panics and searches his body for a pulse and finds none, and then he remembers that Jack does not breathe, nor does he have a heart. There’s also the fact that Jack is largely immune to the changes time brings. It is something that they have in common; other people around them will grow old and eventually die. But not them. They will be around forever. One because it is in his nature, the other because the grave cannot hold him. They will always have each other, and that is something they are both thankful for.

Gabriel thought about all of this as he cooked breakfast. He couldn’t taste regular food anymore and Jack didn’t actually need to eat, but he wanted to treat his lover nonetheless. And he could hear him padding into the kitchen right now.

“Morning,” Gabriel greeted him, filling a plate with waffles. “I already brewed some coffee so you can chug down something other than motor oil.”

“You know, they’re not actually that different in taste,” Jack kissed Gabriel on the cheek and took the plate.

Jack is unique. There is nothing else like him in the world. And for that, he must be treasured.


End file.
